Process and apparatus for jig dyeing



1954 w. T. NORMAND PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR JIG DYEING File d Feb. 27. 1951 lvlnhH d INVENTOR. WILFRED T. NORMAND ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Ofiice 2,696,421 Patented Dec. 7, 1954 PROCESS AND APPARATUS non no DYEING Wilfred 'T. Normand, Hopewell, Va., assignor to Celanese Corporation of America, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application February 27, 1951, Serial No. 212,913

10 Claims. (Cl. 8-151) This invention relates to the dyeing of textile materials and relates more particularly to a novel process and apparatus for the dyeing of textile materials on a ig.

As is Well known, the essential elements of a ig comprise two rollers onto which a textile material may be wound and a tank for holding a dyebath through WhlCh the textile material passes as it is transferred from one roller to the other. Each of the rollers is equipped with a brake and also with a driving mechanism, which driving mechanisms are normally so arranged that they rotate the rollers in opposite directions. In dyeing a textile material, such as a fabric, on the jig, the material is drawn from one of the rollers to which a braking force is applied, passes through the dyebath and is wound into a roll on the second roller which is caused to rotate by energizing the driving mechanism connected thereto. After all of the textile material has passed through the dyebath in one direction and has been wound into a roll on one of the rollers, the driving mechanism connected to said roller is cut off and a braking force applied thereto, and the driving mechanism connected to the other roller is energized, causing the material to pass through the dyebath in the opposite direction and be wound into a roll on said other roller. The textile material is passed through the dyebath repeatedlyin this manner until it has been dyed to the desired shade.

One of the major problems encountered in dyeing a textile material on a jig is to obtan a uniform, level dyeing across the entire Width of said textile material. Frequently it is found that when the central portion of the textile material has been dyed to the desired shade, the edges thereof are dyed to a lighter shade, or, when the dyebath contains a mixture of dyestuffs, as is the case with respect to the vast majority of dyebaths, the edges of the textile material being treated are dyed to a lighter shade and often in a different color. This difiiculty in obtaining a uniform, level dyeing of textile materials across their entire width has hitherto limited the usefulness of jig-dyeing.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a process and apparatus for dyeing textile materials on a jig which will be free from the foregoing and other difficulties.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel process and apparatus for dyeing textile materials on a jig which will improve the uniformity and levelness of the1 dyeing across the entire width of said textile materia s.

Other objects of this invention, together with certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will ble apparent from the following detailed description and arms.

I have now discovered that the uniformity and levelness of the dyeing of a textile material across its entire width on a jig may be improved by tilting the textile material, as it leaves the dyebath, and/or the roll into which the textile material is being wound alternately in opposite directions transversely of the width of the textile material. The tilting of the textile material lowers one longitudinal edge of said material below the other, causing the dye liquor that adheres to the material as it leaves the dyebath to flow diagonally across the material toward said lower edge. Similarly, the tilting of the roll into which the textile material is being wound lowers one end of said roll below the other, causing the dye liquor that is squeezed between the layers of textile material to fiow toward said lower end.

The tilting of the textile material and of the roll into which said material is being wound may be effected readily by tilting the entire jig. When employing this expedient, the lower edge of the textile material remains immersed in the dyebath for a longer period of time than the upper edge of the material since the textile material will be tilted while the surface of the dyebath will be horizontal regardless of the position of thejig. The added flow of the dye liquor toward the lower edge of the textile material together with the longer immersion of the lower edge of the textile material in the dyebath will act to dye said lower edge in a darker shade. In addition, when the dyebath is employed at an elevated temperature, the added flow toward the lower edge of the textile material will keep said edge hot, acting further to darken the shade in which said lower edge is dyed and often eliminating the necessity for enclosing the jig, which expendient is frequently adopted to prevent cooling of the edges of the textile fabric. By tilting the jig alternately in opposite directions transversely of the width of the textile material, it is possible to darken the shade in which the edges of said material are dyed sufiiciently to overcome the tendency of the edges of the textile material to be dyed in a lighter shade, thereby producing a uniform, level dyeing across the entire width of the textile material.

The degree of tilt necessary to obtain the best results will depend upon the nature of the textile material being dyed and the composition of the dyebath. Satisfactory results have been obtained by tilting the jig to an angle of between about 10 and 20 degrees from the horizontal, but smaller and larger angles may also be employed. The jig need not be tilted during the entire dyeing operation, instead, a portion of the dyeing operation may be effected with the jig in a horizontal position. Any suitable means maybe provided for tilting the jig and said means may alter the tilt periodically during the dyeing as, for example, after each passage of the entire length of the textile material through the dyebath. The tilting means may also act to rock the jig continuously from side to side as the dyeing proceeds. Instead of tilting the entire jig, the textile material leaving the dyebath and/or the roll onto which the textile material is being wound may be tilted alternately in opposite directions transversely of the width of the fabric without tilting the remainder of the jig. However, it is preferred to tilt the entire jig since it requires'a simpler tilting means and produces the best results owing to the cumulative effect of the tilting of the textile material as it leaves the dyebath and of the roll into which the textile material is being wound, as well as the longer period of immersion of the lower edge of the textile material in the dyebath.

An embodiment of the jig of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. l is an end elevational view of the jig, and

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the jig.

Referring now to the drawing, the reference numeral 11 designates generally a machine frame in which are rotatably journalled rollers 12 and 13 driven in opposite directions by means of a motor 14, each roller being provided with a brake 15, all in a manner well known in the art. Positioned beneath the rollers 12 and 13 is a tank 16 adapted to hold the dyebath and having disposed therein a plurality of guide rolls 17. Roller 12 is shown having wound thereon a textile material such as a fabric 18, which fabric is fastened at one end to the roller 12 and at the other end to the roller 13. As is Well known, in the dyeing thereof, fabric 18 is transferred repeatedly from one to the other of said rollers, in the transfer passing through the dyebath tank 16 under the guide rolls 1'7. Adjacent the rollers 12 and 13 and adapted to function as guides for the fabric 18 are guide rolls 19 and 21 which are fastened to the opposite ends of arms 22 pivoted centrally thereof at 23.. This construction permits the guide rolls 19 and 21 to move relative to the rollers 12 and 13 as the quantity of fabric thereon varies, thereby effecting a more uniform winding of the fabric onto said rollers.

Fastened to the opposite ends of the machine frame 11 are brackets 24 and 25 under which are positioned lifting jacks 26 and 27, respectively, which may be actuated one at a time by any suitable means to tilt the jig alternately in opposite directions transversely of the width of the fabric 18 to a position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

The following example is given to illustrate this invention further.

Example A 750 yard length of fabric formed from cellulose acetate yarns is entered into the jig shown in the accompanying drawing. The tank is filled with a dyebath containing liters of sulfonated castor oil, 3 liters of a levelling agent comprising a mixture of 20% by weight of soap, 10% by weight of sulfonated vegetable oil, 17% by weight of a mixture of ethyl alcohol and tertiary butyl ethyl ether, 10% by weight of pine oil and 34% by weight of water, 1500 grams of soda ash, 2000 grams of an acid-fading inhibiting agent, 1400 grams of blue dyestuif disperse powder comprising l-amino-2-cyano-4- butylamino-anthraquinone, 240 grams of brown dyestuif disperse powder comprising the azo dye obtained by coupling 2,6-dichloro-4-nitroaniline with m-chloro-N- ethyl-N-hydroxylethyl-aniline, and 130 grams of pink dyestu'lf disperse powder comprising l-amino-4-hydroxyanthraquinone. each of said disperse powders comprising /3 of the named dyestuffs and /3 of sodium lignosulfonate dispersing agent, together with sufficient water to bring the total volume to 300 liters. The dyebath is brought to 80 C. and the fabric is passed through said bath 20 times, tilting the jig alternately in opposite directions through an angle of 20 degrees after each passage of the length of fabric through the dyebath. The fabric is then passed through said dyebath 8 times with the jig in a horizontal position. After finishing, the textile fabric exhibits a substantially uniform and level blue shade across its entire width.

Another piece of the same textile fabric is dyed in the same dyebath with the jig horizontal during the entire dyeing operation. After finishing, the edges of the textile fabric exhibit a noticeably yellower and lighter shade than the center of the fabric and the dyed fabric is not commercially acceptable.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention What I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a jig dyeing process wherein a textile material having parallel longitudinal edges is repeatedly subjected to the operation of drawing said material in the direction of its length through a dyebath and is wound onto a roll as it emerges from the dyebath, then unwound from said roll, drawn longitudinally through said dyebath in the opposite direction and wound onto another roll, the method of improving the uniformity and levelness of the dyeing across the width of the textile material which comprises tilting said textile material as it emerges from said dyebath alternately in opposite directions transversely of the width of said textile material, said tilting being such that a line perpendicular to and joining the longitudinal edges of said emerging textile material is straight and one end of said line is lower than the other end thereof, said process being one which in the absence of said alternate tilting yields dyeings which are not uniform across the width of said textile material.

2. In a jig-dyeing process wherein a textile material having parallel longitudinal edges is repeatedly subjected to the operation of drawing said material in the direction of its length through a heated dyebath and is wound onto a roll as it emerges from the dyebath, then unwound from said roll, drawn longitudinally through said dyebath in the opposite direction and wound onto another roll, the method of improving the uniformity and levelness of the dyeing across the width of the textile material which comprises tilting said textile material as it emerges from said dyebath alternately in opposite directions through an angle of about 10 to 20 degrees transversely of the width of said textile material, said tilting being such that a line perpendicular to and joining the longitudinal edges of said emerging textile material is straight and one end of said line is lower than the other end thereof, said process being one which in the absence of said alternate tilting yields dyeings which are not uniform across the width of said textile material.

3. In a jig-dyeing process wherein a textile material having parallel longitudinal edges is repeatedly subjected to the operation of drawing said material in the direction of its length through a dyebath and is wound onto a roll as it emerges from the dyebath, then unwound from said roll, drawn longitudinally through said dyebath in the opposite direction and wound onto another roll, the method of improving the uniformity and levelness of the dyeing across the width of the textile material which comprises tilting the textile material being jig-dyed alternately in opposite directions, said tilting being such that the lines perpendicular to, and joining, the longitudinal edges of said textile material are straight and the end of each of said lines on one of said longitudinal edges is lower than the end thereof on the opposite longitudinal edge, substantially throughout the entire path of travel of said material during said jig-dyeing process, said process being one which in the absence of said alternate tilting yields dyeings which are not uniform across the width of said textile material.

4. In a jig-dyeing process wherein a textile material having parallel longitudinal edges is repeatedly subjected to the operation of drawing said material in the direction of its length through a heated dyebath and is wound onto a roll as it emerges from the dyebath, then unwound from said roll, drawn longitudinally through said dyebath in the opposite direction and wound onto another roll, the method of improving the uniformity and levelness of the dyeing across the width of the textile mate-- rial which comprises tilting the textile material being jig-dyed alternately in opposite directions, said tilting being such that the lines perpendicular to, and joining, the longitudinal edges of said textile material are straight and the end of each of said lines on one of said longitudinal edges is lower than the end thereof on the opposite longitudinal edge, substantially throughout the entire path of travel of said material during said jig-dyeing process, said tilting being through an angle of about 10 to 20 degrees, said process being one which in the absence of said alternate tilting yields dyeings which are not uniform across the width of said textile material.

5. In a jig-dyeing process wherein a textile material having parallel longitudinal edges is repeatedly subjected to the operation of drawing said material in the direction of its length through a dyebath and is wound into a roll as it emerges from the dyebath, then unwound from said roll, drawn longitudinally through said dyebath in the opposite direction and wound onto another roll, the method of improving the uniformity and levelness of the dyeing across the width of the textile material which comprises tilting said textile material as it emerges from said dyebath alternately in opposite directions transversely of the width of said textile material, said tilting being such that a line perpendicular to and joining the longitudinal edges of said emerging textile material is straight and one end of said line is lower than the other end thereof, said textile material being tilted alternately in opposite directions during a portion of said jig-dyeing process and being maintained with said line horizontal during the remainder of the jig-dyeing process, said process being one which in the absence of said alternate tilting yields dyeings which are not uniform across the width of said textile material.

6. In a jig-dyeing process wherein a textile material having parallel longitudinal edges is repeatedly subjected to the operation of drawing said material in the direction of its length through a dyebath and is wound onto a roll as it emerges from the dyebath, then unwound from said roll, drawn longitudinally through said dyebath in the opposite direction and wound onto another roll, the method of improving the uniformity and levelness of the dyeing across the width of the textile material which comprises tilting the textile material being jig-dyed alternately in opposite directions, said tilting being such that the lines perpendicular to, and joining, the longitudinal edges of said textile material are straight and the end of each of said lines on one of said longitudinal edges is lower than the end thereof on the opposite longitudinal edge, substantially throughout the entire path of travel of said material during a portion of said jig-dyeing process, said textile material being maintained with said lines horizontal during the remainder of the dyeing process, said process being one which in the absence of said alternate tilting yields dyeings which are not uniform across the width of said textile material.

7. A jig for the dyeing of textile material, said jig comprising a pair of parallel rollers for supporting a length of textile material, having parallel longitudinal edges, in roll form, a tank for holding a dyebath, guides for said textile material within said dyebath, means for driving said rollers to draw said length of textile material longitudinally in a path from one of said rollers, around said guides in said dyebath, to the other of said rollers and then back through said dyebath to the first of said rollers, repeatedly, and means for so tilting said textile material, alternately in opposite directions, as it emerges from said dyebath that a line perpendicular to and joining the longitudinal edges of said emerging textile material is straight and one end ofsaid line is lower than the other end thereof.

8. A jig for the dyeing of textile material, said jig comprising a pair of generally horizontal parallel rollers for supporting a length of textile material, having parallel longitudinal edges, in roll form, a tank for holding a dyebath, guides for said textile material Within said dyebath, means for driving said rollers to draw said length of textile material longitudinally in a path from one of said rollers, around said guides in said dyebath, to the other of said rollers, and then back through said dyebath to the first of said rollers, repeatedly, and means for alternately tilting the roller onto which said material is being wound to alternately raise and lower one end of the latter roller with respect to the other end thereof.

9. A jig for the dyeing of textile material, said jig comprising a pair of generally horizontal parallel rollers for supporting a length of textile material, having parallel longitudinal edges, in roll form, a tank for holding a dyebath, guides for said textile material Within said dyebath, means for driving said rollers to draw said length of textile material longitudinally in a path from one of said rollers, around said guides in said dyebath, to the other of said rollers and then back through said dyebath to the first of said rollers, repeatedly, and means for alternately tilting both or said rollers to elevate first one end of each of said rollers and then the other end thereof through an angle of about 10 to 20.

10. A jig for the dyeing of textile material, said jig comprising a pair of parallel rollers for supporting a length of textile material, having parallel longitudinal edges, in roll form, a tank for holding a dyebath, guides for said textile material within said dyebath, means for driving said rollers to draw said length of textile material longitudinally in a path from one of said rollers, around said guides in said dyebath, to the other of said rollers and then back through said dyebath to the first of said rollers, repeatedly, the longitudinal axes of said rollers and guides being generally horizontal and positioned in planes perpendicular to the path of travel of said material, and means for tilting said rollers and guides, first in one direction and then in the opposite direetion, transverse to the original path of travel of said material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 688,742 Loag et al. Dec. 10, 1901 842,122 Spatz Jan. 22, 1907 1,053,517 Macadam Feb. 18, 1913 1,598,627 Voegeli Sept. 7, 1926 1,773,169 Cadgene Aug. 19, 1930 1,929,689 Hochheimer Oct. 10, 1933 20 L053 Willey Nov. 17, 1936 

7. A JIG FOR THE DYEING OF TEXTILE MATERIAL, SAID JIG COMPRISING A PAIR OF PARALLEL ROLLERS FOR SUPPORTING A LENGTH OF TEXTILE MATERIAL, HAVING PARALLEL LONGITUDINAL EDGES, IN ROLL FORM, A TANK FOR HOLDING A DYEBATH, GUIDES FOR SAID TEXTILE MATERIAL WITHIN SAID DYEBATH, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID ROLLERS TO DRAW SAID LENGTH OF TEXTILE MATERIAL LONGITUDINALLY IN A PATH FROM ONE OF SAID ROLLERS, AROUND SAID GUIDES IN SAID DYEBATH, TO THE OTHER OF SAID ROLLERS AND THEN BACK THROUGH SAID DYEBATH TO THE FIRST OF SAID ROLLERS, REPEATEDLY, AND MEANS FOR SO TILTING SAID TEXTILE MATERIAL, ALTERNATELY IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, AS IT 